PG County Police Officer Convicted Of Assaulting Man In Custody

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — A Prince George’s County Circuit Court judge on Thursday found a PG County police officer guilty of second-degree assault and misconduct stemming from an incident where the officer punched a man in custody multiple times.

According to the PG County state attorney, Corporal Stephen Downey was convicted for his involvement in an Oct. 28, 2018, incident where he and other officers responded to a call at a CVS Pharmacy in Temple Hills. At the scene, one of the officers placed Andre Verdier under arrest with handcuffs behind his back and proceeded to secure him with a seat belt in the front seat of the cruiser, the state attorney said.

While the arresting officer was outside his cruiser talking to detectives about the arrest, Verdier leaned over to the driver side and began complaining about his handcuffs being too tight. Downey, who also responded to the initial call, opened the passenger side door and yelled at Verdier. Downey then asked the arresting officer whether he had cameras in his cruiser and was told no. As a result, Downey put on his gloves and punched Verdier in the face multiple times.

Verdier was treated at a local hospital for injuries. After a three-day bench trial, Judge Ingrid Turner returned a guilty verdict against Downey on all counts. In addition to assault, he was convicted of misconduct in office.

PG County Police Chief Hank Stawinski said this is the third time during his administration that PG County officers reported misconduct by a fellow officer. “This is clear evidence to me of a police culture that is (not) in line with the high expectations of the community. This sort of conduct will not be tolerated by any of us," Stawinski said in a release.